“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God …will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7)
Number one priority for actively pursuing peace involves being in harmony with others. Though that is not always possible, so I’ll share another scripture which says, (if possible, live peaceably with all) Romans 12:18. That takes a little pressure off of me because sometimes it takes time to heal from being hurt, to forgive or be forgiven before I am able to find that peace. Hate is a strong word, but I am going to use it in expressing my feelings on discord, “I hate it.” Having unresolved issues with someone is one of the worst feelings I could have. I’ve lived my whole life as a people pleaser until recently. I have learned my mental and emotional well being is very important to me and I have made a deliberate decision not to allow anyone to steal my joy purposely amongst other things. My focus for peace is about more than people though. I have hobbies, different ministries I am involved in, home projects, etc. obviously all these things take time. This requires prioritizing because if I don’t life becomes total chaos,and chaos is definitely not peace. I have become intentional or as Charlie Brown in the caption above said, “I make deliberate life choices.” The beginning of this year I received a word which I have written about before, “Intentional.” One of the things I have been intentional about this year is protecting my peace at all cost. I had to take a step back and look at some of the different ministries I was involved in and let a couple things go to free up my time to better the other ministry work as well as give me a break here and there. I’ve gotten rid of things in my home that were making for unnecessary workload, when I had more than I could do already. Did some scaling back on monitarial things that weren’t necessary. Took a sabbatical from social media. Stopped taking every call/text that came across my phone. Busyness can really rob you of your peace. On a spiritual note regarding peace, I have found that humility is huge. You know you can just be quiet, you don’t have to fight about things, that’s never the solution anyway. Being right in a disagreement is overrated anyway, conflict always results in loss of peace. I think that’s called being PRIDEFUL. So I would rather choose peace over trying to be right about my opinion. Like another Blog I wrote; Mind Your Own Biscuits and Life Will Be Gravy …that’s Peace right there now, just say’n. Keep to yourself and don’t allow other people to bring you into their drama. They say, experience is one of life’s greatest teachers, but the Word of God is the best teacher. Do it right the first time and you won’t have any regrets.
What regrets are you experiencing right now? Do you need to seek after or pursue peace? Do you need to unload some things from an overburdened lifestyle? What do you need to be deliberate about to receive peace in your life?
Proverbs 17:22 says, “Laughter is like a good medicine.”
Everyday we need to take our medicine. Find something that makes you laugh. See the humor in life. Put a smile on. Be friendly. Be good natured. Learn to laugh! Laughter is powerful and free accessible medicine, all natural. I like all natural remedies. Some of the benefits are: It lowers stress hormones, increases immune cells, reduces disease risk and boost cardiovascular health. It relaxes muscles through the release of endorphins, which is a natural pain relief. It increases serotonin and dopamine, causing a better mood as well as giving us the ability to see things in a new perspective when approached with challenging situations. When we share laughter with others we are able to connect better and resolve conflicts.
I have a newfound love for laughter. When I am faced with a heaviness or a difficult situation, mostly a place where I just can’t see past it at the moment, finding something to laugh about brings a calming effect and then I can focus on whatever it is that I am needing to deal with. I just have to loosen the load so to speak. Every time you are able to find some humor in a situation, you win. I love to joke around not in a malicious kind of way, but one that brings others to laughter, I feel a sense of connection when that happens. Everybody needs someone to make them laugh when they think that they’ll never smile again. In Proverbs laughter is portrayed as a gift from God, a sign of joy, and a therapeutic force. When we laugh, we neither think, grieve, or feel. In Eccl. 3:4, it’s a natural part of life’s rhythm, “a time to weep and a time to laugh.” Laughter is the best medicine but if you laugh for no reason, you need medicine …LOL. My husband and I love to laugh, we laugh at some of the craziest things, but the best times are when we are laughing so hard we are crying and trying to stop but can’t and end up laughing even harder and longer. I also love it when I hear someone else laughing uncontrollably, it causes me to start laughing and I may not even know what it is about it just becomes contagious.
I challenge you today to think about something really funny, whether from your past, an experience that was really bazaar, just something …and begin to laugh. I promise you will feel so much release from the mundane, or just happier than you already are.
Learn to Laugh …Life is much better when you are ~
For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)
In the movie the Wizard of Oz, the Tin Man wants a heart to feel emotions like love, kindness and sorrow, believing that without one, he cannot love. In the beginning he explains his need for a heart and later he notes, “Now I know I’ve got a heart because it’s breaking”.
Tina Turner sings a song, “What’s Love Got to Do With It”. This was a song about anti-love, keeping relationships casual and physical, rather than emotional, to avoid heartbreak. Its focus is on, distrust, emotions driven by past pain. It’s about protecting oneself from future hurts by not allowing themselves to fall in love. The chorus: “What’s love got to do, got to do with it? What’s love but a secondhand emotion? What’s love got to do, got to do with it? Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?” This secondhand emotion suggests that emotional intensity is less important than physical experience. Tina Turner stated in an interview in 1984 that she personally believed “love has everything to do with everything,” even though the song fit the “liberated” and faster-paced mindset of the time. The song inevitably denies the importance of emotions.
The movie is a fairytale, the song is based on an era in time, but what does God have to say about the matter of the heart? God views the heart as the center of human personality-encompassing intellect, emotion, and will-and the primary indicator or spiritual condition. As humans we tend to look at the outward appearance, God looks directly at the heart as in the Scripture (1 Sa. 16:7), which is often described as naturally deceitful, sinful, and in need of divine transformation. Scripture also speaks of the heart being wicked; filled with evil thoughts, immorality, and greed. Jesus taught that the heart is the source of all behavior, that what defiles a person comes from within, including evil thoughts, murder, and adultery. God says, he searches the heart, he tests it looking for evidence of His spirit, and then he refines it and blesses it according to our conduct; [“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deed.”] I as many of you reading this have experienced our own story of emotions on the matter of the heart. As horrible as the brokenness and the wounds that we have been carrying from the emotions of the heart are, there is GOOD NEWS. In the Word of God it says, broken hearts are not abandoned, but are the focus of His intimacy, healing, and restoration. God draws near to the brokenhearted, offering to bind up wounds, exchange the emotional ashes for beauty, and transform painful experiences into a testimony of His love and grace. He saves the crushed in spirit (Psalms 34:18). He turns sorrow into joy (Is. 61:1). No matter how shattered the circumstances of your life may seem…”preaching to myself here,” God is the restorer of the damage done. God will use these moments of brokenness to draw me and you closer to Him, a place where His strength and love abound and this is the heart of the matter.
Knowing the testing of your faith produces patience. Let patience do its perfect work, that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (Ja. 1:3-4)
Let’s turn our adversities into opportunities. Let’s become complete and whole. Let’s produce “FAITH.” Faith produces patience, endurance, and perseverance, which leads us to completeness, I want everything God has for me. Faith produces the ability to withstand hardships which in turn should mature us as believers. Eventually it will lead to good works and obedience in God, which I am steadily maturing in with each circumstance presented before me. Faith is our weapon to war against the enemy. If we have the faith to believe God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31). Battles seem to be never-ending, but with God we are more than a conqueror. It also produces peace, joy and love for others, that’s where we see the adversity turning into an opportunity. An opportunity to show the love of Christ in any given circumstance; I am still working out the kinks in that area just FYI. Faith is the foundational assurance of things hoped for, confidence to trust God’s promises. I have hope, and I trust, that’s the only reason I am still here. It is an anchor, a grounding for all future hope today, tomorrow, days and years to come. While hope is looking forward with an expectation, our faith is relying on God’s character that He is who He says He is. Faith is the inward certainty that generates the outward expectation of hope. This is where I know that I know comes in. If we will get this seeded deep inside of us, it makes it possible for us to move forward with confidence. Life allows us so many opportunities, yet I have found most require faith to do them. I don’t always feel that kind of faith. I have to stir up faith inside of me, it’s there, but I have to remind myself. Without it I am an “Udder FAILURE,” I have to pray for direction and guidance and be ready and willing to receive. God simply wants me to trust in Him, have “FAITH.” By doing it that way it is perfect, I lack nothing. That trouble situation, self-doubt, rejection, lost loved one, struggle to succeed in what I am trying to accomplish; adversity overcome. DONE! Once you have faith, the test is finished. (Hebrews 12:2), Jesus is described as the “author and finisher” (or perfecter) of our faith. Doubt and faith do not co-exit.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Heb.13:8)
Does your life ever feel like this weather report? One extreme to another? No consistency? My life has and still does at times. I can get to many irons in the fire and suddenly feel like I’m going from 90-nothing in seconds flat. I have moments of feeling like wonder woman and then find out her powers were not even real. Or, I get stuck in a rut of allowing my emotions to dictate my day vs allowing my helper; the Holy Spirit to direct me. I go from bad to worse until I look to God, then my life comes back into a constant sense of peace. The only way I can stay constant in my life is to rely on Him. God promises me that through consistent effort, particularly in obedience to Him, it will lead to fruitful results. Galatians 6:9: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”. If we will find ourselves imitating Jesus as in the scripture above; stay the same, how much more fruit might we bear? I don’t want to be like the wind, changing directions day to day. I think about the character of Jesus how trustworthy He is: yesterday; active in creation, today; offering salvation, and forever; reigning in heaven. I put my trust in Him fully and if I want others to trust me it’s important that I be consistent, that they may know what to expect from me at any given time. I think about my husband and all the times he has left for work not knowing who he was going to come back home to. Like I mentioned before I have allowed my emotions to be inconsistent, not a good thing. The fruit that was being produced was not even good enough to throw out to the wild animals. Don’t mistake consistency as we are never meant to change anything in our life or in ourself. There are times in life when we are waiting for change, yet we need to remain consistent in what we are doing in order to ensure the results we are aiming for, despite temporary setbacks. I am going through a situation right now that is requiring me to remain the same until the Lord shows me otherwise; I do not change. I am learning self-discipline through the waiting, not allowing my thoughts and my emotions and my timing to interfere with Gods. I am hoping the outcome of my reputation in this and the fact that I can be relied upon will be good fruit that I and all involved will glean from. I also, pray that through all of this that it will help strengthen me to be more consistent in other areas of my life, forming a new habit, making it easier to overcome obstacles in my life compared to being so sporadic. So when I think of change, this would be a good area to practice change. I’m not trying anymore to be perfect, I found that developing consistency is much more effective than perfection and it’s doable. My words will be enough when others see the consistency in them, they will know what to expect from me, (that’s just a note to self). I am tired of being tired mentally. I have found when I make consistency a part of my daily routine it allows me to stay focused on my goal and it reduces the stress. Last thing I have to say regarding this new habit of consistency is, follow through! Stay committed to your belief in your capability to achieve your goal, build that confidence that you can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13). He is our divine support, we can face any challenge and find contentment in all circumstances, and overcome any obstacle. The power comes from Christ, not from within ourselves.
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light; ( 1 Peter 2:9)
HE CHOSE US and WE MATTER!
Yesterday was the second annual fundraiser for my dear friends Non-Profit organization, which I have had the opportunity to help host both years. I also, am given the opportunity to sit in on these amazing guest speakers Break-Outs throughout the day. This conference is an emotional health conference for professionals. To help equip them to better serve their employees, co-workers, patients whatever field of work that might be. And more importantly learning how to better care for themselves so that they can be the best version of themselves doing what they do without the feeling of they are not enough, they do not matter or all to often …burnout. I tell you that to also say, I’m NOT a professional of any kind, but I MATTER. And because I matter and so do all the volunteers that come to help out in the conference we are ALL given the opportunity to sit in on any topic we feel might help us to be the best version of ourself. This picture of the chimney was from one of the Guest Speakers and I am sure she would not mind if I shared her name and or even a little bit about her. Lynette Thrower; her topic was on “The Matters of Mattering” which is also the name of her book she authored. “The Matters of Mattering: I, You, We Matter,” regarding belonging, validation, and emotional authenticity. Her teaching challenges us to reflect on how we assign our value, especially in relation to our performance, productivity, and personal worth. If you look her up on Instagram you can see how she defines herself; Lover of YHWH. Prayer warrior. Peaceful poet. She realizes her life matters and so does ours. The chimney was an illustration from a Highlight magazine back in the day. I didn’t get a picture of the first clip, but it was a large chimney telling the small chimney that he was to small to smoke. This was suppose to be a riddle in the magazine, but there was so much more to be taken from that photo than a riddle. Here was this happy little chimney doing what he knew he was suppose to do and then being told, your to little to smoke. The little chimney became afraid of his purpose so then refuses to smoke. And as you may already know, a chimney must smoke in order to keep the house from backing up with smoke, and from the air becoming toxic and people getting harmed. So there is purpose in a smoking chimney. If the chimney/we allow what others say to us we can find ourself withdrawing from our purpose, preoccupied with the criticism, and then our vision of ourself becomes distorted. We begin to feel insignificant, invisible or unimportant to others. We are then no longer doing what God created us for or our God-given gift or talent. When that kind of fear takes hold of us, we begin to distort how we see ourselves and our place in this world. We begin having false beliefs about the role we were designed to fulfill. I recently felt all of that in my blog writing. I called it writers remorse when telling my husband about it. As Lynette says, “Our lives are meant to be a beautiful symphony of purpose and belonging, but fear introduces a dissonance that can overwhelm our sense of mattering.” I’m not going to go into the complete teaching on this, but I wanted to share from the beginning because we do have purpose and we do matter and that “WE” is EVERYBODY. God says we are: Chosen (John 15:16), Loved (Jeremiah 31:3), Forgiven (1 John 1:9), Precious (Is. 43:4), Strong (Is. 40:31), Unique (Ps. 39:13), Important (1 Peter 2:9), Protected (Ps. 121:3), Enough (2 Cor. 12:9). So we are able to say, I am____________, you fill in the blank. Be that little chimney and SMOKE with your calling, gift or talent.
“There is neither Jew not Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28)
This is my family in India. It was 2015 when I was given the opportunity to go on a missions trip out of the country. It was more than an opportunity, it was a divine appointment. One that will remain in my heart forever. From the time I rededicated my life to the Lord I saw different things I would do as a Christian and one of them was missions. There were three of my dear friends from church that were about to go to India and I felt the Holy Spirit saying …GO! I didn’t see any way possible for that to happen, after all it is very expensive, I’d be gone for 2 full weeks and at that very same time I had just signed on to host not one but two foreign exchange students that year as well as I would need to take time off work. All this would be left in my husbands hands and he to had a full time job. I had already resigned to the fact that my mission work was here, with the exchange students. I do want to mention that while the boy from China was here he did give his life to the Lord and our girl from Slovakia was already saved yet, she and him both were baptized while here with us. Glory to God! Through much prayer and discussion between my husband and I, he made the decision that I should go, this would be an anniversary gift from him to me. Of course it would require fund raising to pay for what we were not able to pay for, but if God calls you, He will provide what’s necessary, and He did. This process began in October of 2014, Jan. 2015 I was on an airplane headed half way around the world, to an unknown territory. Fear has always been a factor in my life, but this time “NO FEAR” pure excitement to know God had chose me to go be the hands and feet of Jesus to a people that I knew nothing about. Not only did I know nothing about, but we did not speak the same language. I’m not a quick study and learning Telugu which is the language in Southern India was out of the question. I was so thankful that my new family, Raju; the pastor and father of the village I stayed and his son Jonn spoke English …YAY! There were a couple others as well, but for the most part I had to rely on interpreters’ or the Holy Spirit. One thing I really want to share about this trip was how the Holy Spirit did play the interpreter between myself and Raju’s wife Lalita. A little bit about who she is; she is a wife, mother, and had just become a new grandmother when I arrived. She was the one that made sure the village was running on course, there was a school for children, a place for Christian’s to stay and be safe, due to being persecuted for their faith in Jesus if they were elsewhere. There was a church all within their small village/camp/home area. Lalita prayed! When I say she prayed I mean this woman talked to God about everything ALL the time. I fell in love with her spirit. Her and I could not speak to one another in words but, OH how we conversed in a way only the Holy Spirit could have made happen. We would sit outside the huts and somehow talk, to this day I can’t put it into words how that all happened, but it happened. We laughed, we prayed, we cried, we shared anything and everything we had or could. I’ll never forget the two days before I was about to head back to the states, I was speaking with my husband on the phone, he and the exchange students were ready for my return. When he asked me, “are you ready to come home?” I didn’t know how to answer him because the truth was, I wasn’t. I had fallen in love with my new family and I couldn’t imagine leaving my new sister in Christ, Lalita. The next day was even harder, I was counting the hours down to my departure. She and I were feeling all the same things and we did manage to learn to speak a few words in each others language over that two weeks. The morning came, we cried so hard. We were in every way now family. I moved off from Michigan to Texas right out of high school so I remember what good byes with my family were like when I would come for visits and then have to leave. It was just the same with Lalita and Jole her daughter in law and Jonn her son and Jaqc her new grandson and of course Raju. All the women there in the village were so kind and generous to me while I was there. These women even made me a Saree and some Punjabi’s I now could dress as them and take these articles of clothing home with me in remembrance of them, they were so kind and loving. I can’t say enough about how good I was treated, they protected me as we entered dangerous territories. I was very sick the entire time I was there and they made sure I was being nurtured back to health in everyway possible. Let me add, I never missed a meeting or clinic no matter how sick I was or how far away that village may have been from where we were or how long it may last. Sometimes those meeting would go on for hours and then we would have to travel back to our village when finished. I remember just a few days before I left there was a trip planned to go to the mountains near Nepal, it would require a car, train, jeep and a lot of walking to get us there, two days worth of traveling. This trip would be very different from the other days, it would definitely require me being physically able. Raju did not think I should go due to my health. It was Sunday the day before the trip to the mountains and we were at church taking communion. I remember taking communion unlike anytime in the past. I said to God with everything inside of me, “I BELIEVE this cup and this bread was and is for my healing” I stood in faith like never before, “I am HEALED” I will make this trip to the mountains. I went and laid down for a little nap after church and when morning came, I was well and ready for the trip. Praise be to God! God showed me so many things over that two weeks, I was beginning to know Him in ways I had never known. To tell of all that would require another blog. Todays emphasis is on family. Today, 11 years later, I am still very much a part of this family. Thanks to WhatsApp, video chats, cell phones, MoneyGram and computers. We are still able to be together, encouraging one another, supporting the family through financial means, prayer, tears and laughter. They give back as much if not more to me then I could possibly give to them. This is my Blood bought Family!
“While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (1 Cor. 4:18)
Sometimes I look at life with eyes of disbelief. How is it certain things in my life go the way they do? Or why do some people act the way they act? Heck, why do I act and think like I do? My precious Pearl girl here, she is always looking at things from a different perspective, she makes it seem so simple. I try to look at things from a different perspective because I/we naturally believe everyone sees things from my/our perspective, that is SO NOT true. I/ We tend to get caught up in the temporal things in life, when really, I/we should be more focused on what’s lasting, what is real, things we don’t have to question or at the least shouldn’t question. I am trying to make it my goal to be more like this scripture above. While looking at something or someone I actually consider certain factors such as what God might be up to. We don’t have a clue what God is doing, so to think one way and one way only doesn’t even make sense. There is always a BIGGER picture. My husband just gave me an illustration of Jonah. Jonah thought God should just wipe out the people of Nineveh, but that was not God’s perspective. So, you can see where perspective in this case would be getting a new perspective or end up in the belly of a whale for three days. Not only that, but Jonah’s perspective didn’t allow for the well-being of others. He could have caused a dire jeopardy for himself as well as others had he disobeyed God. Read the whole story in the book of Jonah. How about the story of Jesus and the devil where the devil says to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” That was after 40 days in the dessert, no food, no water. (Luke 4:3-4) See the difference in how the devil perceived hunger vs how Jesus perceived hunger? The enemy as well as ourselves will get us focused on temporal things, even false things. We Christians must continually discipline ourselves to focus on eternal realities, instead of the temporal realities of this earth. We all could use a new view on things, a sense of awareness and understanding to the things and people around us. Maybe we should go deeper in our intuition, that place where the Holy Spirit dwells, where real discernment lives. That is just my perception of things.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; (Ezekiel 36:26)
Forecast is rain for the next several days, after all it is almost spring. I’ve been raking for hours on end trying to prepare for spring. As I looked out my front door I realized the trash man hadn’t run yet and I really needed to rake up a couple bags of leaves right quick to put out with the other trash. As I was raking I began listening to God talk to me about being a good steward of what He has given me. He gave me the means to buy my home and He gave me the means to buy this fencing to house my dogs when they go outside. He also spoke to me about the importance of keeping up with it, not just the bare minimum, but to make it nice showing my gratitude for what He has blessed me with. This area that needed tending to is my dogs area for the most part, but I utilize it as well and so does our company. The ground is dirt, stone and little patches of grass that is just now coming up. Since I will be going into town today and already needed to go by the Co-op, I thought this would be just the right time to pick up some grass seed. First, I was going to need to get the rest of those leaves and tiny sticks picked up and rake the yard for aeration before the trash man got here. While out there raking I’m just listening to God giving me all the reasons why I need to do this and how to do it, etc. I’ve mentioned in other writings about my conversations with God being on-going all day long. Sometimes it’s as if no one else even exist because He is the one I sense in my presence all the time and it’s His voice I am always hearing. I heard Him saying things like: if you are grateful for what I have given you, you need to show it. If you want green lush grass your going to need to care for it, cultivate it, nurture it. This is what I do for you. I love you and I only want the best for you. Good things. I want you to flourish in life. I began thinking about that and all the ways He does just what He was saying to me. He truly is the Gardener of my Heart. He knows the deepest most sensitive issues of my heart. He knows how to cultivate and aerate it to cause it to breathe the breath of life again when it feels dormant. He knows what ingredients it will take to cause it to spring forth. He knows what elements it requires for me to flourish. I love how He loves me and cares for me. No one knows me like my Father and no one can do for me what He can do. He created me, He has ownership of me and He has designed me to be what I am. He has created me as a beautiful landscape.
So, teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Ps.90:12)
In this Psalm, number of days: This is more than just having mortality; it means valuing the time we do have by using it for eternal purposes. Our life is but a vapor. (James 4:14) “whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” The Bible consistently describes life on Earth as temporary, short, and fleeting, comparing it to a passing breath, shadow, or mist to emphasize the need for eternal perspective. (Psalm 39:4-5): “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered-how fleeting, my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” This life here is not our permanent home. We have a temporary assignment here and it would be wise to find out what that is. I have spent half my life living like tomorrow would never come, wasting the days away. When suddenly, I realized how many were gone. I now have more days behind me than in front of me. It makes for an urgency to do what I am here for. I need to use what time I have left wisely, serving God, and focusing on eternity. The little girl is now old and gray. My husband and I were just talking about this very thing today. What we would like for our last years here to look like. What would bring fulfillment to each of us and as a couple. Yes, our focus should be on serving God, witnessing to those who do not know where they are going to spend their eternity, but it also means enjoying life with your family and friends, playing, working and resting. Balance. We don’t neglect our duties or our hearts desires, whatever they may be. Spend some time ruminating on your days. What does that look like to you?
Bread and Water 